Bitter Pills #10: Why Can't Other States Be Like Indiana?

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Medicare discount drug cards are available for the first time
ever today (June 1). In addition to substantial savings on retail
drugs for all seniors, the cards provide low-income seniors $600 in
annual subsidies to help them buy prescription drugs.
But in Indiana, some seniors can double their savings through
prescription drug cards.

How did
the Hoosiers do it? Easy, according to Heritage Foundation health
care expert Derek Hunter. They changed Indiana's own drug
assistance program, the HoosierRX Drug Card, to compliment the
Medicare drug card program. It sounds mundane, but because of this
change, Indiana's low-income seniors who qualify for the $600
subsidy also will receive a total of $1,200 in additional benefits
through 2005, Hunter writes in a May 26 research paper.
The other 49 states should follow Indiana's lead. Then, Hunter
writes, "…low-income seniors would realize significant
savings on out-of-pocket costs while taxpayers would see future tax
burdens shrink." The Bitter Pill? Congress kills the program in
2006. Read more of Hunter's paper, "The Truth About The Medicare
Drug Discount Card," here:http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/wm512.cfm

For more information or to receive an e-mail version of "Bitter
Pills," contact chris.kennedy@heritage.org
or call Heritage Media Services at (202) 675-1761.

"Bitter Pills" is an occasional, but regular, feature from The
Heritage Foundation on how the 2003 Medicare drug law is full of
sickening "surprises" that have serious consequences for seniors
and taxpayers. Of course, The Heritage Foundation isn't surprised
at all. We diagnosed the problems long ago in ourMedicare Maladies series.
Both Medicare Maladies and Bitter Pills are available on heritage.org (if you can stomach
them).